Against All Odds
by Emku
Summary: On a journey to find answers to their questions, they encounter something neither of them have ever dreamt about. But how does one deal with those strange feelings they have never experienced before? And what does one do when the one they hold dear faces death? /Starting pre-cannon. Titled 'Little Witch' before.
1. Chapter 1

Hi, everyone! I won't be boring you with a lot of details right now ('cause I should be studying for my exam). I just hope you'll enjoy my little story :) Sorry for all the mistakes! I tried my best, but English isn't my first language...

Anyway... Here goes nothing!

 **This story along with my OC's are a product of my (sick) imagination. And One Piece and its' original heroes** **belong to Eiichiro Oda.**

 **Episode 1.**

He honestly hated being on watch when his captain and the rest of the crew had been having their fun while drinking months' worth of alcohol of some poor bar owner, waiting for a fight. They had spent last two weeks on the sea, so they did not need much. Actually, he was counting down seconds till the moment someone would flew through the doors with a bloodied face. He hoped that with this moment, he would get his share of fun too. For the moment, however, he was just scanning his surroundings for any signs of Marines, other pirates or locals that looked rich enough to rob them.

He narrowed his eyes, locking his gaze onto a short girl with a medium-sized cardboard box in her hands. He had been thinking for a moment if there could be something valuable in the box but rejected the idea very quickly. The girl did not look neither rich nor like a pirate. She was wearing a plain  
T-shirt, stone-washed dungarees and worn-down shoes, no weapon of any kind in sight. There was something in her, however, that bugged him. The pirate continued observing her as she was strolling down the main road while window-shopping. Her messy short red hair was jingling around to the rhythm of her steps. She had stopped in front of a hardware shop for a while before she looked straight at him.

When his eyes met her dark brown orbs that seemed to lit up in a kind of a silvery-blue color, he suddenly felt weird. It was as if someone had mantled his brain into cotton and a thick fog had covered his vision. He was not able to think logically or even collect his thoughts that were searched through, some images taken out of his memory, looked at and put back, while he was completely unable to move even one muscle. And when it was done, he collapsed on the ground, completely disorientated. When he regained control over his own body, the girl was nowhere in sight.

* * *

"Oi, Marvy!", an enthusiastic shout of her captain welcomed her as soon as she stepped into the restaurant. Seconds later, she was sitting next to Masked Deuce and across from the black-haired, freckled boy who still had his trademark – an orange cowboy hat with two blue smileys, one frowning and one smiling that were connected by a string of small red beads sitting on its brim and two long leather side straps hanging down sides of the hat that met at a large medallion of a bull's skull with orange tassels – on top of his head, even though they were in the building. She was looking at him with reproval, as he was devouring monstrous amounts of food. The rest of the crew just laughed it off and returned to their plates. "Have you found what you were looking for?", he managed to screw out of him in between the bites. Marvel always wondered how he was able to do that without choking to death.

"Nope, unfortunately not," sighed she and combed her slender fingers through her hair, pushing it back. She smiled, but not in a happy way. It was that ' _I'm really tired but won't give up_ ' kind of a sad smile.

"Chin up, we've still got a long way befo-…" he was cut mid-sentence, as his head fell backwards, and he started snoring. The pirates laughed again, already accustomed to their captain's shenanigans and random attacks of narcolepsy that stroked off almost whenever he was eating so much at pace this fast (meaning _almost every time he ate_ ) or when he was bored with whatever he was doing at the moment (was it talking with someone or fighting – did not really matter).

"I'm sorry, is everything alright?" the waitress came up to them and looked at sleeping Ace with a worried expression. Marvel sent her a reassuring smile but before she opened her mouth, Ace woke up and started eating again, as if nothing had happened.

"As you can see but thank you for your concern."

"Huh?" Ace looked at her quizzically and cocked his head to the side.

"You scared the poor waitress" she pointed the woman, who was already back behind the counter, with a nod. Ace just shrugged, his only interest at the moment being the meat on the table. "Well… I may have not found what _I_ 've been looking for, but I still managed to collect some useful intelligence."

"Go on."

"First of all, our Log Pose has stabilized, so we can move on with our journey any minute."

"As soon as I'm full!"

"So we've got a problem, capt'n! You're never full with meat!" Pinnacle joked earning another round of laughter from his crewmates. When they calmed down again, Marvel continued with a mysterious smirk, as she propped her crossed arms on the table and leaned across, looking straight into the eyes of her captain.

"I've made one pirate's acquaintance and learned that his captain has got an Eternal Pose to the island that I've heard Akagami no Shanks is currently on."

"You searched through his mind, didn't you?"

She grinned, cocking her head to the side.

"Oh, you know me so well!"

* * *

She really, honestly and utterly hated cold.

She was a thermophilic creature that – whenever the temperature dropped below 59°F - was being chained to her bed, thick and warm blanket and a mug full of warm tea with lemon, honey and grated gingerroot. Besides, someone had to stay on the ship and make sure it was safe – in the end, they were pirates. They were hunted down not only by the World Government, but also by other crews that they had gotten on the wrong side of. Unusually, this time Marvel did not whine when she had drawn out the shortest straw. Actually, she felt relieved that instead of _exploring_ the winter island covered in tons of snow, she got to stay on board in a heated room. The rest of the Spade Pirates, however (Ace specifically) did not understand her and wondered how she could not want to meet as a great pirate as the Akagami was, and – if everything went according to plan – celebrate and feast with him until dawn or even longer. But Ace had never been cold, thanks to the power given to him by the Mera Mera no Mi.

And so, Marvel stayed on the ship alone. She sat on her bed in a lotus position, mantled herself in a blanket and closed her eyes, regulating her breath. She was not really worried that something would happen. They had docked in a secluded area and her ability allowed her to keep watch without moving an inch. She only had to focus to create a barrier around the ship, that erased its' existence from sight of anyone who stood outside of the invisible sphere. She also knew about every living creature that crossed her barrier – most of which were fishes swimming in the bay. That was why she was extremely surprised when her barrier had been breached by a dozen of unfamiliar men at once. They had to outsmart her, but how?

The barrier dissipated along with her concentration. Marvel jumped out of her bed and threw on her warmest jacket. She grabbed her wooden bo staff and a pouch with nanobombs.

She was ready to fight.

* * *

The Spade Pirates' crew enjoyed the companionship of the infamous Red Hair Pirates. Mass amounts of alcohol and tons of food, happy singing of pirate songs, the buzz of conversation and not too big dose of competiton made the party look like it was not going to end any time soon. The cave that they had found Shanks and his pirates in, protected them from the worst coldness and icy wind. The rest of the warmth was provided by the sake and certain Mera Mera no Mi user, who happened to slip into one of his narcoleptic naps from time to time – not because he was bored, but because of his fast-eating.

"Oh yeah, don't worry," started the doctor of Ace's crew, laughing sheepishly when _the inevitable_ had happened for the first time that evening and some of the other pirates panicked, "Our vice-captain always jokes that Ace's narcolepsy is a matter of some self-defense mechanism of his body that prevents him from dying of over-eating. He'll be up in seconds now." True to his words, as soon as Jugo – the doctor – finished speaking, his captain woke up and resumed eating as if nothing had happened.

Shanks laughed wholeheartedly and drank another big sip of his sake. He was truly thrilled to have met his little friend's older brother. There was, however, one thing that seemed to bother him. Shanks was curious about the second-in-command of the Spade Pirates who happened to have quite big amount over her head for someone who showed up out of nowhere not so long ago. The World Government did not even put her photos on her posters that were signed _alive_ only rather than usual _dead or alive_.

"Say, your vice-captain is the girl known as the Little Witch, isn't she? Marvel, was her name?"

"Aah," Ace stopped eating and looked at the older man quizzically. It was like he was suddenly on-guard and it happened almost every time he was asked about his female friend. Some of his crew tried to hide snickers.

"I heard some rumors about her and her Devil Fruit. It's a pity she's not here, I'd like to meet her! They say she's very powerful and beautiful…"

"She _is_ powerful, when concentrated. But she lacks experience." He shrugged and drank his cup of sake.

"So harsh, capt'n!" Pinnacle laughed out loud. "Good she's not here, she would have smacked you with her bo staff in the head! Last time, he had a huge bump for, like, three days! Even the logia type can't escape her haki!"

Everyone laughed, making Ace blush visibly. He turned around to Pinnacle and sent him a death-glare, but it only made them laugh harder.

"Yea, she's the level-headed one in this duo and keeps our captain in check," added Saber, "And she is also very beautiful! A little childish in appearance, maybe, but she's still only seventeen so she's got some time." Ace felt a sudden urge to kill the man when he put his hands near his chest and everyone instantly knew that he meant Marvel's breast. The temperature jumped a few degrees when Ace clenched his fists. Fortunately, Banshee – the only female member of the Spade Pirates other than Marvel – punched the man in the head instead of him.

"How can you say that about a woman, you shithead?"

"Oi, Banshee!"

The banter between Saber and Banshee almost grew to be a fight but he did not care anymore. He felt something and tensed, looking in the direction of the cave's exit and stood up. Seeing him like that – nervous and mad – the rest of his crew immediately stopped what they had been doing. They understood.

Ace felt it only for a short while, but he knew that it was real. He wore his hat, that up to the moment was hanging on his back and furrowed his eyebrows.

"Marvy's in trouble."


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2.**

She did not understand how she could let them ambush her like that.

She was on _her_ territory, she knew every single inch, every cracked plank, of the ship and she was a Devil Fruit user. She had also inherited haki from one of her parents and had knowledge and ability to use it – basic, maybe, but under normal circumstances it was more than enough against small fries like the ones attacking her. _Heck_ , it was even enough to hit Ace instead of swishing her fist through flames that his body turned into when attacked, and getting burned in the process.

So maybe, _just maybe_ , it was her over-confidence in fact that she had an upper-hand over her opponents. She did knock most of the attackers out, leaving them unconscious, sprawled all over the main deck, but – in the end – the circumstances of the fight were not normal at all.

Because those bastards had bullets made of sea stone, and three of them were inside her left arm, right side and right thigh. Fourth one went through her left calf, leaving behind a painful, blooding hole.

She hoped that the fact would explain why she was hanging on the axe that had been beat in the main mast, her hands tied over her head, to Fire Fist and the rest of her crew, and save her from stupid remarks regarding her _incompetence_ when they finally come and help her. At the moment, it was all she could do. Wait for them and hope she would endure until then.

An enormous-sized fist punched her hard straight in her stomach. Her eyes went wide as she vomited blood and digestive juices. _It was bad_ , and she knew that all too well ever from the moment her body stopped aching and started becoming numb.

 _'_ _Come on, Ace… Get over here and save me, you Flame Brain_.'

"Where is our treasure?", one of the remaining pirates closed the distance between them and grabbed her face in his hand, forcing her to look him straight in the eyes. Marvel's nostrils were hit by an exceptionally unpleasant mix of his stinking breath and a reek of an unwashed, sweaty body. She wrinkled her nose and held her breath, feeling sick again.

"Spill it now, dolly, or else this goes next level!" His free hand squeezed her breast, and the pirates cackled when she jerked with an angry huff, trying to kick him… But again, she was not able to. She was severely injured, freezing and there were sea stone bullets in her body that were draining her energy and making her feel like her body weighted tons. Even if the cold acted for the benefit of her slowing down bleeding, Marvel still had lost a lot of blood. Every slight movement demanded a great deal of effort and willpower of her; she could not even use haki anymore.

 _It was really bad_.

"Cat got your tongue?" Marvel's head jerked to the side when he slapped her hard. She shut her eyelids tight and gritted teeth, preventing a scream from escaping her lips. "Where. Is. Our. Treasure?!"

"If you lowlifes searched through our ship and didn't find it, maybe it's because it's not here?" She spat blood out at his feet and send him a cheeky smile.

If she were to choose one trait that she hated most about herself, it would be the lack of self-preservation in times of instant danger to life. She had always valued self-control, barely ever went berserk and it was not easy to provoke her (in contradiction to her captain), but she still tempted fate. This time also, she quickly regretted her actions when she felt the same burning sensation of the slap on the other cheek.

"Fuck," mumbled she a curse under her breath. "Go to hell…"

"We'll see how smart you'll be after I'm done with you!"

The pirate undid her belt, earning croaky laughs of his companions that were counting on having their way with her as well. If it was not for the sea stone debilitating her, she would have ended them up a long time ago… But at the moment she had no strength to even fight back. Her vision was blurring and darkening with every second and her conscience started drifting off. Marvel felt her trousers being unbuttoned, her shirt tore open, dirty hands squeezing her breasts through the material of her black bra… She wanted to scream, to kick, to bite… And although she could not do any of the above, she was not scared.

She knew he would come and help her before she'll be raped and – most probably - killed. She believed in him.

She had a vague recollection of the turmoil that had suddenly built up on the main deck. With great effort she managed to open up her eyes, only then realizing they had been closed. With one swift punch Ace knocked out the pirate who had been all over Marvel and grabbed him by the neck, pinning him to the boards, while the rest of the Spade Pirates took care of his companions.

Marvel was safe.

"If I were you, I would keep those filthy hands away from her."

"Ghrr," the pirate choked on his words, grabbing Ace's wrist and trying to push his hand away. Unsuccessfully. "Give… Give me b-back… our… treasure…"

"And how would we have _your_ treasure? Isn't it _our_ ship?" His mad eyes glinted dangerously when he tightened grip around the pirate's neck.

"You… t-took it… from our ship… we've… been following… you since… then… A blue… casket. It's ours!"

Somehow, the pirate managed to push Ace back. He stood up quickly gasping for air and took out the gun from behind his back. He pointed the barrel at Fire Fist who did not even flinch. He was not scared of bullets. They could not do him any harm.

"Ace… Sea stone…" Marvel's strained voice was a barely audible whisper, but he was close enough to hear her message. His blood boiled in his veins as he clenched his fists.

"That explains your condition," said he but did not even look at Marvel. Instead, he watched closely his opponent who happened to have one of the few existing weapons that actually worked on him. When the gun shot, Ace jumped away from the bullet and attacked immediately.

Marvel lost track of time. She had been in and out of consciousness, trying to locate her captain whenever she could muster up strength to open her eyes. Finally, their enemies had all been defeated and Ace ran up to her. Marvel could not tell, if he was more worried or angry at her.

"Marvy?" He cupped her stinging, bloodied face in his warm hands delicately, directing her fogged eyes at him. "Fuck," the curse escaped his lips when he became aware of the state she was in. "Everything is okay now, you hear me?"

She nodded slightly, fighting herself to stay conscious but her thoughts were all over the place. "I'm… sorry," mumbled she, because it was the only thing that seemed to make any sense at the moment. "I… underesti-mated… them. Sooner. Should've called you. Sooner."

"Well, we all learned our lesson today but don't worry. You couldn't have known that scums like them would have sea stone on them."

Ace's big and pleasantly warm arm encircled her waist while the other hand reached up to cut the rope with a dagger. He was so close, only inches away from her face.

And she had lost control over her tongue.

"I could… kiss you… now," managed she to mutter but he shook his head in an answer, shadow of a playful smirk on his lips.

"You must have lost a lot of blood if you're this delirious, Marvs."

When the rope holding her up finally gave in to his dagger's blade, Marvel lifelessly slipped into his arms. She was not even able to stand on her own, so he lifted her up bridal-style and called Jugo over. Her freezing body instinctively nestled into his chest, finally feeling safe.

"So… warm… I like your… warmth."

Fire Fist shook his head in disbelief once more. There was no way he would ever let her forget all those embarrassing things she just said to him but at the moment, he had to ensure she would survive so he could make fun of her later.

"Jugo, take Marvy and do what you have to. Everyone else, tie those clowns down. We're feeding them to the Sea Kings."

There was no room to refuse. But although most of them shuddered at their captain's cold voice, they would not have objected. They may have not seen Fire Fist this mad in a long time, but – if truth be told – all of them wanted to kick their enemies asses one more time for what they had done, and what they had wanted to do, to Marvel.

Ace could not even think about it without flames covering his figure. He came up to the leader and served him with his flag attack – Hiken – straight in his face. Still, it made him feel only slightly better.

" _No one_ treats my crew like that, you understand? _No one_ treats Marvel like that."

* * *

 _The sound of a music box echoed throughout the pink room. Her small hands were waving happily in front of her face, trying to reach a rotating carousel that hung over her head. She was fascinated by the animals slowly flowing through air – a smiling lion specifically. It's light color and sun-like shape seemed to have some magic to it._

 _"_ _Aria, just forget about him already!" A sudden noise from behind the closed door caught her attention. They had been fighting again._

 _"_ _No, brother!_ _You_ _can forget it'll ever happen!" She knew those voices, especially the female one. It was the voice that sang her lullabies when she could not fall asleep and always spoke to her with unconditional love. She squealed, trying to call the woman into the room. She did not like it when they fought._

 _"_ _For fuck's sake, he's a pirate! And I'm a Marine, just like our father, our grandfather and almost every person a few generations back!"_

 _"_ _I don't need another lesson of our family's lineage, Sam. I've been raised by the same people as you." The door opened swiftly, and she saw a tall brunette with dark-brown, almost black eyes, followed by even taller man with same eyes and slightly lighter hair. "And I'll_ _never_ _forgive you for making him run away and depriving my daughter of a father. He doesn't even know about her existence and it's all your fault. Hi, there, little one…" The last part, which was addressed to her, was spoken with a mild, warm voice, incomparable to the tone used for her uncle. She squealed again, reaching out to her mother, who took her in her arms and hugged her tightly._

 _"_ _Aria… Have you, at any point in your life since you've learned you're pregnant with his child, thought about consequences for you and Marvel, should anyone know who's her father?" Aria did not say anything, ignoring him completely but Samuel could see how she tensed instantly and gritted her teeth. "You_ _do_ _know what happened after the rumor had spread, that Gol D. Roger had a lover and a child."_

 _"_ _He's not the Pirate King."_

 _"_ _No, he's not." Samuel sighed and grabbed the bridge of his nose between his fingers, closing his eyes. As usually, his stubborn little sister was giving him a migraine. "But he's been serving under him for years and I've heard rumors about his terrifying strength! Who knows what will become of him? I wouldn't be surprised if he tried to take over his late captain place! Do you know, what would happen to you and Marvel then?"_

 _"_ _Get out of here, Sam," huffed she, sending him a glare, before looking back at her red-haired daughter, who yawned and closed her eyes, before half-opening them lazily. Aria caressed her plump cheek with a finger. It was beyond her, how enormous could motherly love towards her child be. "I've made my decision. When Marvel grows up a little, I'll search for Shanks. My baby deserves to meet her father!"_

Marvel opened up her eyes slowly, looking at the circular object over her head. It took her quite a while to realize that it was a lamp rather than a child mobile carousel; that she was not in a girly room of a child with her mother and uncle, but in a stark infirmary, alone; that she was not an infant anymore.

She somehow managed to sit up. Her bandaged body still hurt but when she had brought her hands to her face to examine it, she was glad she did not find any signs of swelling. What she did find, however, was unnatural warmth. As always, after she had gotten a vision, she also got a fever – this time, however, it was not very high. Probably because this time she had seen past instead of future and it was somehow less tiring for her organism.

Music that was coming from behind closed doors reminded her of the strangest dream she had just woken up from.

To be honest, she barely remembered her mother, who had left her in her uncle's care when she had been only five. At first, she had gotten some cards and letters, but then it had stopped. Her uncle had worked as a Marine and had not really had time to take care of her, so she had been sent away to some distant relative… Or so she had been told. Because the place she had ended up in, had turned out to be something extremely different. A governmental orphanage.

She still remembered how badly she cried when she realized that her family had disowned her for whatever reason unknown to her, terrified that her mother would not find her when she comes back from her _journey_.

It had taken her a whole year to give up on hope that her mother would come and take her from that horrifying place, where she had been bullied for being _a weak girl_ and _a crybaby_ , both by the kids and the caretakers who had been forcing children to work. Another year, she had spent on nursing her resentment towards her closest family that had put her in the institution, while trying to follow the rules of her chaperons. Finally, in her third year in the orphanage, she had made a vow to herself she would find her mother no matter what and ask her about the reason for leaving her behind. She had been nine years' old by then – too young to run away from the orphanage and roam the sea alone, but old enough to start preparing for the day. And so, she had been spending all of her free time in the governmental library that had been in the same building as the orphanage, gaining useful skills, gathering intelligence from the Marines, or sparing with older boys to _toughen up_ , because the sea had never been a place for _crybabies_. Finally, on the day of her sixteenth birthday, an opportunity came up when a certain freckled-boy had caused havoc on the island, allowing her to escape from her _prison_. She had joined him on his journey and almost instantly befriended him when it turned out both of them had some _parental issues_. He told her about his objective to find out if it was good that he had been born, even if his father had been the late Pirate King. She told him about how she needed to know why her mother had abandoned her, before she could move on with her life and let go of the past.

It had been almost fourteen months since that day. In that time, they had acquired the powers of Devil Fruits, founded the Spade Pirates, met new friends, conquered the first half of the Grand Line and lived their lives full of adventures… But she had not managed to find any information concerning her mother or her whereabouts.

Now, however… If the _dream_ had shown her the truth…

Marvel pushed back the covers and put her feet on the ground. Her bandages were clean, but she had no doubt that it was only a matter of time, now that she started moving around. Jugo was an excellent doctor, but her wounds needed time to heal.

Leaning on the night table, she stood up and after her vision stabilized and her head stopped spinning, she wore some loose jumper and matching sweatpants that were sitting on the chair next to the bed. She needed fresh air.

* * *

Even though the Fire Fist had declined their help, Shanks wanted to make sure they were alright, so he had sent Beckmann to watch over them without them knowing. However, instead of admiring their fighting style, Benn Beckman had been astonished by something quite different. He had been thinking about it on his way back to the cave after _those rookies_ had set sails but could not really believe it. Only there had been no other possibility…

"How are our new friends?" asked the captain when Benn sat next to him and lit up a cigarette.

"They're really strong, however…" He stopped for a moment, wondering if there was a good way to inform him about his discovery.

"What is it, Benn?"

"I'm pretty sure that the Little Witch… That I've seen Aria."

There was a dead silence that fell upon them at the mention of the woman, for whom their captain was ready to give up on being a pirate almost eighteen years ago. Shanks furrowed his brows, looking at Benn with a doubt. Aria had always hated sea, so what would she be doing on some rookies' ship? And why wouldn't she come and see him?

"I mean… She's way too young to be Aria, but she looked almost exactly like her."

"So, what?" The change in Shanks aura had been evident, as he reached for another cup of sake with a grim face. He was not stupid. He was more than able to put two and two together. "If it's not some kind of a coincidence, then she probably had a daughter who rebelled against her family full of Marines and escaped to the sea…" He shrugged, trying to hide how much even the sole thought of it hurt him. Seeing this, Beckman continued, this time with a mysterious grin.

"You don't really understand, 'cause you haven't seen her. Her comrades said that she's seventeen, right? And, she bears an unusually strong resemblance to Aria… But, what's the most interesting, is that her hair is red."

Yes, Shanks could put two and two together.

"I bet that she's your flesh and blood, captain."

* * *

Marvel limped out of the cabin and onto the deck, where she propped her elbows against the rail and stared at the calm sea. She felt disappointed when her eyes confirmed what she had already knew because of the characteristic rocking of their ship, wondering how far they had gotten away from the winter island… And how far away she was from the possibility of meeting her father.

That is, if anything from her dream was true.

"What are you doing here?" She jumped slightly when she heard Ace's voice so close next to her. She did not even realize when he came over and leaned against the rail with his back, his arms crossed, looking at her with a reprimand. "You should be resting."

"If I don't move, I'll get rusty." Marvel sent him a subtle smile – but not the usual, carefree one. The strained curve of her lips was not convincing at all. "How long have I been asleep?"

"Whole three days. And you should be sleepin' for another three. You're pale around the gills." She ignored his comment, fixated on the sea line with her face absent. "Everything okay?"

"I had a dream that Akagami is my father," she blurted out before she bit her tongue. Ace's snarky teases were the last thing she needed, and she was sure he would try to knock some sense into her. She hoped he would. Instead, however, she felt his warm hand on top of her head as he ruffled her hair.

"That's what you're worried about?" Marvel tipped back her head and looked him in the eyes, the concern still visible on her face. His fingers combed her messy short jaw-length hair through once again before he took his hand away.

"I'm more concerned it it's even true," sighed she and once again stared at the sea line. It had been a few months since they had eaten their Devil Fruits, but she had a feeling that she did not make the most of Oboe Oboe no Mi ( **A/N** : Mind-Mind Fruit). That it was Ace who controlled his power and used its' potential better, even if it was her who tried harder and trained more often. That was why she did not fully trust her ability.

"Last time you had a _dream_ , you dreamt that we were to find a _bar owned by the one-legged Jim_ on an _island full of flowers_ , and a man with a rainbow tiger, who knows where to find the medicine for Mihar." Ace reminded her, observing their crew bustling around the ship, concentrated on their tasks. Masked Deuce was navigating at the moment, Saber, Pinnacle and Aggie 68 played cards, Ganryu was playing some catchy tune on his violin and Skull was in the foretop, watching out for any signs of potential enemy on sight. Rest of them were probably in the kitchen, helping Banshee prepare dinner or in the cabins, trying to catch up on their sleep. He only wondered where Jugo was. He knew that he would need the doctor's help with Marvel in minutes now. Ace had moistened his lips with the tip of his tongue before he continued speaking. "Sure, it sounded strange at first, but then we reached the next island and it was literally covered in flowers, there was a bar whose owner had one leg and was named Jim and there was also this guy with a tattoo of a rainbow tiger on his forearm. And, he told us what you had seen he would."

Marvel nodded, as if she were confirming his words, but she still could not really believe the latest dream. She bit her lower lip. Her head started spinning as her body was becoming lightweight, so she clenched her fingers around the rail, swinging gently from side to side. A shot of pain run through her body, but she tried her best not to show anything outside. Maybe it really had not been the best idea to get up yet?

"What I mean is that you should believe a little bit more in yourself. Aren't you the infamous Little Witch?"

"Maybe you're right…"

Ace smirked briefly before noticing her absent, foggy gaze. He shook his head in disbelief as he got ready to catch her and took a look around, searching for Jugo. There he was. He showed up on deck, looking around. He probably had realized that his patient had left her bed and started his search. When their eyes met, Fire Fist nodded slowly, without words letting him know that he would bring her over to the infirmary in a moment. Jugo nodded back and returned to his _kingdom_.

"Besides, when I saw Shanks, I instantly noticed that his hair is the same as yours. And I'm a _guy_ , so…"

Although her vision was blurry, she looked at him with a mix of hope and insecurity. He sent her a reassuring smile, leaning a little more forward and grabbing her wrist before putting her arm around his neck. She did not protest when he lifted her bridal-style and made their way to the infirmary. She was only seconds away from another blackout and she knew that all too well.

"Do you think… I'll meet him again?"

"Sure thing."

Her breath slowed down in contrast to the dizziness. She closed her eyes as her head bumped into his chest uncontrollably and he knew that she was out of it. He fastened his pace but smiled a little, looking at her relaxed face from above. Sometimes, she reminded him of his younger brother, when he had to take care of her like that.

"I swear, you can be a real pain in the ass sometimes, Marvs," said he quietly in a gentle tone, knowing that he would not have a life on the ship should anyone hear him, and then added in an even softer whisper: "But you're _mine_ pain in the ass."

* * *

And with that, the second chapter is posted. Hope you like it! I would really appreciate any sort of feedback so please, if it's possible, leave a review - even if you only point out my mistakes/bad grammar/etc., it'd be really helpful in improving my story and English skills :) Thank you in advance!

See you again soon!


	3. Chapter 3

The first thing she felt when she woke up, was pain.

Her whole body ached tremendously, but after a quick inspection, she could say that except for a few new bruises and scratches, she was fine. Well, she found a swelling at the back of her head, probably from the time she hit the ground after one of the Whitebeard's commanders got through her shield that she created to protect unconscious Ace, but other than that...

"Ace?" The name escaped her lips as she looked around. Only then did it hit her, that she was in a spacious cage in an even bigger room, probably on one of the lower levels of a ship, along with her crew, sprawled all around the ground, unconscious or asleep. But the Fire Fist was nowhere to be seen. "Fuck," she cursed under her breath standing up, "What have we gotten ourselves into this time?"

After Ace had fulfilled one of his objectives by thanking Akagami no Shanks for saving his little brother, the next thing on his _to-do list_ was to defeat Edward Newgate – _the_ Whitebeard, one of the four Yonkou himself. Other than the black-haired boy, she was the only person on their crew who knew the real reason behind that _suicidal-mission-slash-death-wish_ , as she liked to call it. But knowing that it was extremely important to him, she let him do it… Even though she knew how much they were risking.

A few weeks after they had set sails and left the winter island on which the meeting with her _supposed_ father had taken place, they entered Whitebeard's territory. It did not take long before they encountered a Fisherman and a Shichibukai at that – Jinbei, who stated that he would not let _that kid with a murderous intent_ meet Edward Newgate, even if he was not a part of Whitebeard's crew. And so, a fight broke out and lasted for five days straight. The Spade Pirates' crew was forbidden to interfere and so they could only watch. Again, she concurred only because she understood Ace's true motivation. There were moments, however, when she was on the verge of intruding their _business_.

Finally, after said five days, the Shichibukai fell right before their captain did. They won. But it was only the beginning of their troubles because at the same moment, an enormous-sized ship sailed out the fog (crashing their ship in the process) and _the_ _man of interest_ showed up.

Ace got back up on his feet immediately, even though he was exhausted, used Enjoumo to cut off his crew from getting hurt and ordered them to run away. But this dictate they could not follow through with. Few minutes, or seconds, later, after Whitebeard beat Ace away, offered him to join his ranks, was met with refusal, and then knocked the Fire Fist unconscious, causing the firewall to cease, they attacked, protecting their captain. Judging by the position they were currently in, they did not succeed and were taken hostage by the Whitebeard Pirates.

But where was Ace?

"Uhmm…" She heard from behind her back and turned around, only to see Jugo slowly sitting up. He looked around disorientated, massaging his stiff neck. "Where are we?"

"Dunno for sure, but I'd go with Whitebeard's prison." She half-joked and helped him up. "How are you feeling?"

"A little sore, but I think I'm okay, mostly. You?"

"Same. Can you look at the rest? I'll try to find anything out."

Jugo just nodded in an answer and proceeded to check on the rest of their crew, while Marvel closed her eyes and took a few deep breaths, concentrating on her surroundings. She tried to create a sphere around her, the biggest possible one, to detect their location and any living creatures that were within reach of her power.

But her eyes were not shining when she opened them up again and she felt nothing.

"You're at the bottom level of Moby Dick and in a cage made of seastone, so you're basically surrounded by the sea-yoi. You can't use your ability here, Little Witch."

There was a tall guy with blonde hair, who entered the room and came over to the cage. _Marco the Phoenix_ , she thought to herself, observing him askance. She should have predicted they would try to restrain her powers using seastone. After all, other than Ace, Marvel was the only member of the Spade Pirates wielding the ability of Devil Fruit.

"Same goes for you, Blue Phoenix."

"True-yoi. But I can leave in a moment and you'll be feeling more and more weakened with every passing hour."

"Is it a threat?" Her voice and façade were calm, but her insides were stirring, her brain constantly searching for the best way out of this situation. Marco half-smiled, his hands deep into the pockets of his dark-blue pants.

"Nope, just a friendly reminder that if you wanna leave here, you have to be well-behaved-yoi."

Marvel furrowed her brows.

"So, if we promise not to do anything stupid, you'll let us out?" It did not make any sense when he nodded. "Where is our captain?"

"You'll know soon enough. He requested to see you."

* * *

Her body was trembling – and a seastone cuff on her wrist that Marco made her wear when he let her out of the cage was only partly to blame. She tried to keep her cool in front of the Yonkou (who was ten times her size, or more) and a few of his commanders that were present at the time of that _meeting_ , but when she heard about Ace's actions, her fist started itching to punch him hard. It even managed to overwhelm the joy of seeing him safe and sound (well, more or less, since he had still been exhausted, beaten up and injured from the fight with Jinbei and Whitebeard), but drenched in sea water, after he…

Well, after he tried to kill Whitebeard and got thrown overboard in the process.

"Have your flames consumed your brain entirely?" She asked through clenched teeth, massaging her temples. "Stop jumping headfirst into troubles, risking your life!"

"You know I don't give a damn about my life. And you know why I need to do this."

"I know, so I've said nothing and let you do all those crazy things like fighting a Shichibukai for five days straight without backup, and then trying to fight a _Yonkou_ straight after! But this ends now, 'cause _I_ **do** give a damn about whether you live or get yourself killed!" She snapped, forgetting about the pirates that were in the same room. "And the rest of the crew does too! And your brother, as well! So, do us all a favor and stop acting like you're all alone in this world and start thinking about your actions and its' consequences!"

There was a short silence, during which the captain and his second-in-command were eyeing each other angrily, none of them wanting to lose the staring contest. Finally, he spoke, his voice peremptory.

"I'll take care of it, you stand back and behave until I'm done. It's an order." And with that, he stormed off the room.

Marvel's muscles tensed, her fists clenched, the blood boiling in her vessels.

"Fuckin' asshole. Jerk. Stupid Flame-Brain," she was banding curses around under her breath, as a vein popped and pulsed on her forehead, "Baka-Ace!"

"Sorry to interrupt," her head jerked in the direction of a tall man with a pompadour-hairstyle that was dressed like a cook, "but what's your decision?"

"Can we let out your crew-yoi?"

"You heard him." She let out a huge sigh as she covered her eyes with her hand that was carrying a seastone cuff. "We'll be nice. At least until he changes his mind."

And knowing how stubborn Ace was, she did not expect it to happen anytime soon.

* * *

"Is he ever going to stop trying?" Jugo asked, looking at his captain that flew through the wall of Whitebeard's private cabin after another unsuccessful attempt to kill Edward Newgate. Marvel just shrugged and turned around, her arms crossed over her chest. Since that day in the study, she barely spoke to Ace, and it has been a month already… Not that she counted, but never before had they given each other silent treatment for this long.

"You know capt'n, doc." Pinnacle took another card from the stock and made a wry face seeing it. "If Marvel couldn't get through to him, he'll either succeed or die trying."

"This time, at least, he didn't end up overboard," Saber sighed. It was his turn to pick another card, but he was much better at keeping his poker face than Pinnacle was, so the latter one and Aggie 68 could not really tell what he got. "I wish Banshee and Ganryuu were here to see it."

"We knew they would leave when we reach their home island ever from the beginning," said Jugo, his eyes still glued to his captain. Ace slowly sat up and was massaging the back of his head furiously. He must have hit the railing pretty hard, as the pole was broken. "Besides, it's been almost two months since she left. I thought you would forget about Banshee way sooner."

"Who said I miss her stupid face?!"

"We _know_ you two were screwin'." Pinnacle laughed, making Saber's face even redder than it already was. Apparently, that poker face of his was no good to hide emotions outside of the game of blackjack.

"Oi, Little Witch!" Everyone – meaning the person of interest, Jugo, Pinnacle, Saber and Aggie 68 – focused on Marco, who saved Saber from further embarrassment unknowingly. "Pops wants to see you, now."

"And I'll go check up on _our_ captain." Jugo sighed and went in the direction Ace was sprawled on the ground again, his face contorted in anger and pain. "If it continues like this, I'll run out of bandages soon."

Marvel raised an eyebrow but did not argue with the First Division Commander, as she followed him to the Whitebeard's cabin that had a huge, freshly-made Ace-shaped hole in the wall. If he was thinking she would keep Fire Fist in line, he should know by now that she was not able to.

Every time she stood in front of the gigantic man, she felt nervousness bubbling up inside her chest. She swallowed hard but looked him straight in the eyes, standing firm on the ground and pretending not to notice the nasal cannula he had on his face. Even when sitting on his bed, surrounded by medical apparatuses, he looked simply majestic. Marco stood next to him and crossed his arms, his posture relaxed.

"You wanted to see me." Her throat felt dry when she spoke, making her voice hoarse. Newgate looked at her small figure and smiled under his signature mustache.

"Aah, I wanted to talk to you about your plans after your captain decides to join me, Little Witch."

Marvel looked at him a little confused because of his words. It was not the first time she heard about Whitebeard's _wish_ for Ace to join him, but definitely the first time she heard about it being certain… Or even _considered_ by her captain. The problem was, he barely said _anything_ to her in the last four weeks and she could not use her precognition skill since she had to be wearing a seastone cuff all the time. Apparently, Whitebeard and his crew were not afraid of Ace's physical attacks, but her mental ability posed some threat to them… Or so she thought.

Regardless, she answered as if it was the most natural thing in the world.

"I'll go wherever my captain go. I'm sure the rest of us feels the same."

"You seem to have a strong faith in him."

"He saved me from hell I'd been living in for years. So yes, I believe in him." Another statement that was true to the bone. Whether they fought or were on good terms, _belief_ in the freckled-faced boy was one of many things she owed him.

"So, you _do_ think he'll accept our invite, eventually." Whitebeard's words were more those of a statement than a question. Marvel shook her head and shrugged her shoulders. She had no idea what was going on in _that burned down brain_ of Ace's.

"Wouldn't know, he won't talk to me ever since the first day here."

"Gurararara!" Whitebeards laugh took her by surprise and she flinched when the booming sound filled the room. "That brat… I know what he's doing! He tries to discredit you lot as important to him, 'cause he's afraid we'd do something to you to control him. Sometimes, when you want to protect your most-loved treasure, you act like you don't care so others wouldn't pick interest in it."

"You're wrong," said she coolly, but blushed nevertheless. "He's just as stubborn as a mule."

"If you say so." Newgate sent her another calculating look. "Anyway, let's focus on the main topic. What will you do?"

"What do you mean? With all due respect, I've already answered your question."

"Yes, but you must've noticed by now that there are no female pirates on Moby Dick. Only my nurses are women."

Of course, she had noticed – mostly because some men preferred not to shower daily and hardly ever washed their clothes, so the _manly_ smell was pretty much unbearable and unavoidable. Plus, she got her own cabin _out of respect_ , as Marco described it after she and her crew got released from the cage. There was no barrack for women and the nurses' _quarters_ were right above Whitebeard's cabin – a place they probably did not want to have her at, with or without a seastone cuff on. She was only allowed to use nurses' bathroom, also _out of respect_. For that, she was actually grateful. Still, she did not really understand where the conversation was headed.

"And what of it?"

"I believe women were not born to get their hands dirty with fighting, pillaging and killing – it's a mens' job. That's why I don't allow women on board of my ship as fighters."

"Funny… I thought that – since you won't let me get this _thing_ ," she brought up her left hand, jingling the cuff around, "off – you considered me someone worthy of being at least a little bit wary of. And why would you ask me about my plans, if you weren't going to let me sail with you from the beginning?" The annoyance in her voice was clearly evident, and still building up. Whitebeard's face, however, became indecipherable.

"Oi, it's not like we're afraid of you-yoi." Marco, about whom she almost forgot, smiled with a fake awkwardness. "We're not saying you're weak, either. We're just being cautious. Physical attacks – that, we can handle. But your power… Let's just say it poses some threat as we don't know it's true extent. Although we've heard some pretty disturbing rumors about your mind-controlling ability before-yoi."

"And I've never said you wouldn't be allowed to sail with us. Only that you'd be banned from fighting."

"And do what, instead?" She snapped, forgetting all about her initial nervousness, and took a few steps forward. "Fetch and carry for you? Clean the ship? Or maybe work as a washerwoman? Because I'm sure as hell I won't be wearing that nurse outfit! That's discriminating and misogynistic!"

"I prefer to call it _chivalry_ , kiddo."

"I'm not a kid."

"You sure look like one to me."

"Being kid or not isn't just a matter of looks or even age." She said venomously as she sent the Yonko another glare. Right then, she wanted nothing more than for Ace to succeed in his attempts to get the man rid of his head. He really hit a raw nerve with her. Because, what did he know about her? _Nothing_ , except for rumors. He did not – _could not_ – know about the governmental orphanage and the things she had had to do to survive those ten years there. Even Ace only scratched the surface of what there was to know about that time in her life. Regardless of the fact, she was more than fit to be on the pirate crew as a full member – and even _the_ Whitebeard himself could not tell her otherwise.

"Gurarara! I guess you're not always as collected as I thought you are." Newgate laughed again and Marco smirked. The only person in the room who was not in the mood was Marvel. "I'll consider your candidacy, you feisty gal."

"Whatever you say now, it's just a hypothetical talk." She said after a while of just staring at him with anger painted on her face, that she now managed to take under control. She looked away. "No matter what you or Ace decide regarding me, I won't join unless I'm allowed to fight my battles. I have an objective that requires roaming the sea freely, and I can take care of myself, I'm not a pushover. But just remember… if you want Ace to join you, it's a tying agreement. Either you take all of us, including me, or he'll never agree to stay here and serve under you. We come in a package. Now, if you'll excuse me, _gentlemen_ …" With the jab at their alleged chivalry, she just exited the room, not waiting for the permission.

"Gurararara! What do you think, Marco?"

"That she's right, Pops. We want him, we take her in as well-yoi." Marco watched as the man he considered his father laid down again. "And that she'll fit right in with us."

Whitebeard nodded in agreement.

"So, I guess I'll have my first daughter, then."

* * *

Marvel stomped onto the deck, feeling more drained from feeling all of the negative emotions that only now left her system, than from wearing the seastone cuff for the last month. Surprisingly, she got used to the pressurizing effect it had on her body quite well, to be honest. Maybe because of the rather small amount of seastone that she had on her – in the end, it was only one cuff, relatively thin, and with no chain. She was not sure if a Devil Fruit user could get _accustomed_ to the Kairouseki, but she thought she could try using her power later. Now, however…

Cool, salty breeze blew past her and danced on her pale skin – a feeling much welcomed on that cloudless, sunny day. Only then did she felt how tense she had been.

Ace was still in the same place by the railing where he had been sitting before her conversation with Whitebeard. His right hand was bandaged from the tips of his fingers to his shoulder, and Jugo just finished treating the cut on his occiput. Marvel took a deep breath and exhaled loudly, rubbing at her temples. She wanted to talk to him, but she was not sure if she was ready for his grumpiness and sulking after another failed attempt to defeat Whitebeard. She braced herself and – when Jugo finally left Ace alone – she came up to him and plopped down beside him, sitting with her legs crossed.

For a while, there was only silence between them, as Marvel was staring at her captain intently. The latter, however, seemed to be ignoring her, so she poked his thigh with her index finger. Still, no reaction.

"Say… How long are you going to keep doing that?" She propped her elbow on her knee and rested her cheek on the back of her hand, her eyes still glued to his profile. Ace closed his eyes, his brows furrowed. "And I'm not even talking about you trying to defeat Whitebeard, which I still think is really stupid. Because what will you do if you succeed? We don't even have a ship to flee away on, 'cause ours got destroyed when Moby Dick crashed into it, and I seriously doubt that the rest of the Whitebeard crew would just let us get away alive, let alone take their ship. Haven't you noticed how proud are they to be called his sons? Besides, have you made your research before rushing headfirst into the deep water, _as always_ , and dragging us all along? There are sixteen divisions of Whitebeard Pirates, and fifteen of them are run by crazy-ass strong commanders with bounties that are way bigger than yours and mine combined. They may all not be here right now, but at least two of them always stay on Moby Dick. Not to mention that, hell, Whitebeard is called the strongest man alive for a reason! Anyway, back to the main point. You think that ignoring me and the rest of the guys will get you anywhere? Well, _newsflash_ , it won't. I've just had a nice _chat_ with Whitebeard and he said that he knows what you're trying to do. That you're avoiding me – _us_ , so they wouldn't pick interest in us and use us against you." She almost ran out of breath, so she stopped for a second, judging by the vein on his forehead and his fingers clenched tightly on his crossed arms, that she had almost reached her goal and annoyed him enough into talking. "That's why you don't have to worry, if they wanted to, they would have already killed us. So, can you _please_ stop avoiding us and talk to me?"

He only _tch_ 'ed in response to her rant and turned his head away from her. He knew she made some good points, but he was not going to admit it. His ego would hurt too much after that – much more than all of the flesh wounds he got since they had boarded Moby Dick unwillingly, combined. Especially that he wouldn't hear the end of it anytime soon.

"Why are you so, _so_ stubborn?" Marvel sighed again and poked his thigh with her index finger once more. And then again. And again. "Have you ever considered Whitebeard's offer to join him? I think it would be good for you… Well, he has some stupid policy of not allowing women to fight so I would probably leave on the next island and find some other crew, maybe find my alleged father and finally learn something, anything about my mother… But, you should join. You're strong but Whitebeard will help you become even stronger, I'm sure of it." Surprisingly even to her, she realized that she really thought it to be true. Her finger touched him again, and again, and he flinched slightly, the annoyance almost radiating off of him. "I'll probably leave anyway. We've been here for a month and there was not a single island in sight, so I guess we'll have to dock somewhere soon to get supplies. I think I'll seize the opportunity. I didn't find anything about my mom and I won't if I'll be sitting here on my butt, waiting for you to complete your suicidal mission. Because, at this rate, you won't lay a single scratch on him, you know that? You're constantly beaten up, injured or swimming – well, _drowning_ – in the sea. Actually, you should be really thankful for all the times' someone from Whitebeard's crew pulled you out of the water. And you should at least let yourself heal before you fly at him again. A training would also be nice, don't you thi-"

He took her by surprise when he grabbed her hand that did not stop poking him, by the wrist and pulled her down turning her around in the mid-air, so that her head would land on his lap, his hand clasped over her mouth. He loomed over her, looking her straight in the eyes with a dead seriousness in his pupils. He was mad, but it wasn't the usual fiery feeling. This time, it was a stone-cold anger that caused a shiver to run down her spine. She looked up at him, however, with a relaxed expression on her face. She achieved her goal.

"Do you ever shut up?" Ace did not take his hand away from her mouth, so she just shook her head, looking really amused. "I admit, I can't argue with some things you've said. Are you happy?" A nod. "And I know that – other things – you've said just to piss me off enough to get me to talk." Another nod. "But, shouldn't you believe in me more after what've been through? Support me, since you're, like, the only person who knows so much about my ancestry? My reasons?" His voice was… empty. Marvel couldn't describe it any differently, and she already knew what was coming next. Her face clouded over with a feeling of guilt that was mixed with irritation. She truly hated seeing him like this. "Say, Marvel… Do you think I deserve to be bo-"

Before Ace could finish his question, her hand shot up and this time it was her who silenced him with the palm of her hand over his mouth. Her free hand, she used to knock his hand away from her face. She sat upright and then kneeled beside him, her hand still keeping him from talking, not breaking eye contact for even a moment. This time, he did not fight her.

"I don't care how much stronger you are than me, I swear, if you ask me this stupid question ever again, I'll beat the shit out of you," threatened she with a completely straight face. "I already told you once, that you're you and _not_ your father, and that _yes_ , you deserve to be alive. And that I'm thankful for that, because another way, who knows where I would be today. Should anything change, I'll let you know."

She ended her speech with a faint smile, as she took away her hand. He was looking at her quite dumbfounded for a while, something warm stirring inside of his chest. Then, he simply nodded and was about to thank her, when Marco and Thatch came up to them, each of them holding two bowls of soup in their hands. Marvel accepted the bowl from the man with a pompadour-hairstyle willingly and thanked him. Ace, however, seemed reluctant, so Marco put down the food down on the deck next to him, as they sat with them. Marvel smiled apologetically at the two men and started eating.

"Mm, it's really good. You should try it, too, Ace." She nudged him with her elbow. "You need to eat if you want to become stronger."

"You guys…" He spoke suddenly, not looking at anyone in particular, but Marvel knew that he was addressing Thatch and Marco. "Why are you calling him pops?"

"Easy," laughed Thatch wholeheartedly. "Because he calls as his sons."

"Yea'. To the world, we might be nothin' more than some outcasts, but he took us into his family and cares for us deeply-yoi." Marco added, pointing with his thumb at his chest, where Whitebeard's jolly roger was tattooed, proudly. "It makes us happy."

"Say, how long are you going to risk your life? We overheard you two and can't help but agree with Little Witch. You should make up your mind already, you know. As you are now, you can do nothin' to pops, so you should either leave Moby Dick and start from the beginning or stay here and serve under him. You'll be more than welcome."

"And, so is Little Witch. Pops has decided to make an exception for her-yoi."

Marvel observed as Ace brought his knees up to his chest and tangled his fingers in his hair, hiding his face away from them. She smiled faintly.

At this time, she already knew, what future would Ace choose for him and his crew.


End file.
